PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- The Portland Trail Blazers raised a
retired number to the rafters and welcomed back an old friend.
The Vancouver Grizzlies played basketball.

Halftime ceremonies honoring Trail Blazers great Clyde Drexler
and the return of Rod Strickland were obscured by a 105-97 loss
to the lowly Grizzlies, who won here for the first time since
their initial NBA game.

"It's a disappointing night," Blazers forward Scottie Pippen
said. "Such a big night for this organization and do what we
did."

Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 26 points and made two big baskets
down the stretch and rookie Stromile Swift had perhaps his best
game of the season for Vancouver, which ended a seven-game
losing streak.

The Grizzlies seemed to be the perfect patsies for the night's
festivities, which included a halftime tribute to Drexler and
the hoisting of his No. 22 to the rafters of the Rose Garden.
One of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, he spent his first 12
seasons with Portland before finishing his career in Houston,
where he won an elusive NBA title.

"People thought it was going to be an emotional lift for them
because they were coming in high," Vancouver coach Sidney Lowe
said. "We played so much under control that we didn't allow the
crowd to get into it. I thought our guys did a good job at
keeping the crowd quiet for a while and staying in the
ballgame."

Those on hand to watch Drexler become the seventh Blazer to have
his number retired were former Portland stars Maurice Lucas,
Kiki Vandeweghe, Buck Williams and Bill Walton. Strickland also
was on hand, but he came to play.

Another star from days past, Strickland was signed Monday after
clearing waivers and rejoined the team he ran from 1992-96. He
entered at the start of the second quarter to cheers, despite a
career that has been marked by trouble off the court.

On the court, the Blazers had all they could handle from the
Grizzlies. Vancouver hung around through three quarters before
scoring 33 points in the final period to notch its first win in
Portland since November 3, 1995. Strickland played for the
Blazers in that game.

"I definitely have some rust to get off," said Strickland, who
had six points and four assists. "I still have that little
uncomfortable feeling just from being in a new situation."

In the final six minutes, there were six lead changes and two
ties, the last on a three-point play by Dale Davis that made it
95-95 with two minutes to go.

Abdur-Rahim gave the Grizzlies the lead for good with a tip-in
14 seconds later and used a headfake to get inside a defender
and make a running bank shot for a 99-95 advantage with 1:15 to
play.

"The last few minutes, everybody knows they're looking for me to
shoot the ball," Abdur-Rahim said. "I like that situation and I
hit the shots."

Detlef Schrempf missed a corner jumper and Swift, who scored
seven of his 12 points in the final period, scored inside with
38 seconds remaining. After a turnover, Michael Dickerson made
two free throws to seal it.

"I'm feeling more comfortable and my teammates are making me
feel more comfortable," Swift said. "They encourage me when I'm
not doing so good. In practices, they show me different things.
It's building my confidence."

Swift was the second overall pick in the 2000 draft but has
struggled in his rookie season, averaging 4.1 points and 2.9
rebounds.

"The young guy was big, especially down the stretch," added
Abdur-Rahim.

Dickerson scored 20 points and Mike Bibby contributed 14 and 10
assists for the Grizzlies, who shot 56 percent (39-of-70) from
the field and made 24-of-30 free throws.

Pippen, Damon Stoudamire and Bonzi Wells scored 15 points each
for the Blazers, who shot 44 percent (40-of-90) and had a
four-game winning streak snapped. Portland is just 3-3 at the
Rose Garden since a 21-4 start.

The Blazers also missed forward Rasheed Wallace, who again let
his temper get the best of him. After making just 1-of-7 shots,
Wallace received two technical fouls and was ejected early in
the third quarter.